BIBLE STUDY --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

TAMER OF THE SEAS

From Mark 4:35-41

That evening Yeshua said to His disciples, [Let’s go over to the other shore.] When the crowds had been sent home, the disciples took Yeshua into their boat and, with some other boats, set sail for the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee. But a storm with violent winds blowing came over the sea. The waves rose high, splashing over the sides of the boat until it was in danger of sinking. While this happened, Yeshua was asleep in the back of the boat, resting His head on a cushion. The disciples quickly woke Yeshua, shouting above the noise of the wind, [Adonai, don’t You care that we’re about to sink?] Yeshua stood up and gave orders to the wind and the sea. [Be still!] He said. At once the wind quieted and the waves calmed until all was at peace. [Why are you so afraid?] Yeshua asked His disciples. [Do you have no faith?] But they were even more frightened, now when they saw what He had done. [Who is He?] they began to whisper. [Even the wind and the waves obey Him.]

THE TAMING OF A DEMON-POSSESSED MAN

From Mark 5:1-20

When Yeshua and His friends arrived on the other shore, in the land of the Gerasene, a man filled with demons rushed out from the tombs to meet Him. The man was so strong that he always broke the shackles and chains that people tried to put upon him. Night and day he wandered among the tombs and hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp stones. When the man had seen Yeshua in the distance, he ran and threw himself before Him. When Yeshua Commanded the demons to come out, they let out a piercing scream. [What will You do with us, Yeshua, Son of the Most-High YHVH?] the demons cried out. [We beg you, by the Name of YHVH, not to torment us.] Then Yeshua asked the demons, [What is your name?] [Legion,] the demons answered, [for there are many of us here in this man.] Again, the demons begged Yeshua not to send them to some faraway place. Nearby a large herd of pigs grazed by the mountains. The demons begged Yeshua to send them into the pigs, so He let them do it. At once the entire herd, about two thousand pigs, rushed down the side of the steep hill into the water and were drowned. The man who had been taking care of the pigs ran into town to tell what had happened. Hearing of this event the people of the town came out to see what was going on. There was the man who had been filled with demons, sitting before Yeshua, clothed and normal. When the people saw this and heard an account of what had happened, they were afraid and begged Yeshua to go away. While Yeshua was getting into the boat to leave, the man who had been healed pleaded with Yeshua to let him go, too. [You must go back to your own home instead,] Yeshua told him. [Tell your family and friends what Adonai has done for you and what mercy He has shown you.] The man did go home and went from city to city in all of the Decapolis, telling what Yeshua had done for him. Throughout these ten cities, people were filled with wonder when they heard his message.

COMMENTARY

MANY MOODS OF THE SEA OF GALILEE

The Sea of Galilee sits like a giant bowl of water among the hills of Galilee. The water is about one hundred fifty feet deep. But the surface is about six hundred eighty feet below sea level. Thus, this is no ordinary lake, but an inland sea capable of many moods. At times violent windstorms sweep down from the hills and stir the water into giant waves. Some waves as high as twenty feet have been reported in recent years. These storms may come without a cloud in the sky, a drop of rain, or a bolt of lightning. Within a short time, the sea may be as peaceful as a mirror. Spring wildflowers growing on the shores add another dimension to the changing personality of the sea, accenting it with a rainbow of colours. Barren hills with scrub brush, rich fertile valleys, stately trees, short palms, and golden fields of grain add to the variety of life surrounding the moody bowl of water. The Sea of Galilee constantly changes its moods. At one time violent, another time calm; at one time a mirror of silver, another a ripple of deep blue; at one time a rainbow of colour; another a bleak grey of early morning fog. This changing scene must have been a constant delight to the people who lived there.

i was explaining something the other day,
that eating kosher, that what is clean, is good for one's physical health, but that understanding the implication of what eating clean food means and applying that is good for one's spiritual health.
knowledge being food for thought, as it were, sticking to the clean food of the scriptures is desired, but watching mindless stuff, reading about worldly knowledge etc and then bringing that into your thoughts is eating unclean.

and that brought me to think of manna.
see, the israelites were fed with manna provided to them during the entire process of traversing the wilderness.
and there ends the Torah.

what do i mean by stopping abruptly like that?
when the scriptures continue, as the israelites cross over into the promised land of israel, the manna also abruptly stops, and the israelites are now to eat of that what the land produces.
the manna that is the Torah had been given, and they'd fed on it (oy vey, with enough complaining as they went along) to GET them to the promised land.
now, it was up to them to gather and produce their own food.

allow me to phrase it like this -
mindlessly following what the Torah says is still eating of manna, with the implication one is still wandering in the wilderness, not yet having entered the promised land.
it is now expected that one starts contemplating things, gathering and producing wisdom and understanding, and eating the fruits thereof.
now one has crossed into the promised land.

it is not just to follow Torah, it is to then work on understanding it.

this is very similar to what paul described as milk, for not being ready yet for solid food.
as the Torah was manna for the israelites, the entire scripture, mindlessly read, taken at face value, is milk.
contemplating the implications of what one has read is the solid food.
the work one does with what one's read produces the solid food of understanding we're all looking for.
(the Spirit leads one in this, we're not left alone)

i hope i've managed to give just that slight further encouragement, but, point is, don't listen to me, don't necessarily listen to others either (who too often just repetetively give manna and milk), go eat the food yourself, read scriptures. and NOW work on it.

Shabbat Shalom My Torah Family.
YHVH Richly Bless You and Your Family and Household and Work of Your Hands.

Thought for Today: Shabbat November 22

YHVH is the only Source of true happiness, because He offers those intangibles that we mistakenly believe can be found on earth; contentment, security, peace, and hope for the future. None of these can be found in a job, a human relationship, money, power, or position. They are YHVH’s alone to give… Our Adonai Yeshua, in His Sermon on the Mount, told where ultimate happiness lies: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” {Matthew 5:6}. This is YHVH’s Promise – and it is true. Riches… or righteousness? Which one is your goal?

This coming week, 23-29 November 2025 (3-9 Kislev 5786), the Bible reading plan covers Vayetze.
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../11/21/weekly-bible-

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